Shillong, Sep 17 : The University Grants Commission (UGC) has agreed to a proposal from the Meghalaya government to hold final semester exams between October 7 and 16.
In a tweet today Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui said that North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) will conduct the exams on October 7, 9, 12, 14 and 16.
“Results will be declared by the end of October. The university will issue routine accordingly,” Rymbui said.
“Keeping in view the health and safety of the students and also in the larger interest of their academic progression, the UGC has decided to accede to your request,” UGC Secretary Rajnish Jain said in a letter to Principal Secretary of Education, DP Wahlang.
“Further, you are also requested to ensure that the result of these examinations be declared at the earliest and preferably by the end of October so that admissions to the first year of postgraduate/PhD programmes can be completed without any further delay and the next session can commence timely.”
The state government had requested, on September 2, the UGC to postpone the final year exams for undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Rymbui informed that the exams would have to go ahead after the Supreme Court ruled that universities and other institutions of higher education had to conduct final year exams and cannot promote students on the basis of internal assessments or other criteria.
The apex court had left it open to states to request the UGC to reschedule the exams.
For undergraduate students the exams will be conducted both online and offline while postgraduates will take their exams online.
Students from Garo Hills can appear for the exams from their respective districts and need not come to Shillong to take them.
Rymbui also informed that students stationed outside Meghalaya can sit the exams online.
“There are 2,000 postgraduate students, including 700 from outside Meghalaya, and a total of 22,000 undergraduate students, which includes 3,000 students from outside Meghalaya and 19,000 from within the state,” he informed.
